"The Man Who Loves Breasts" Is Here!

Rob's new comic, The Man Who Loves Breasts, debuted at SPX over the weekend. Woo-hoo!

If your local comic shop doesn't have it, you can get a copy from Top Shelf.

Or, if you live in the Bay area, you can pick up a copy from us at APE, where we'll be sharing a table with John Adams. And I'll have knitted Pentapi, too, if it ever cools down enough to touch wool again!

I Might Be a Jinx...

I sent a pattern for a "Man Purse" to Black Purl and they accepted it (Yea, me!) and now the magazine is no more. L'Tanya graciously included it in the last Essentia newsletter, but it's not archived on the site, so I might post it here as well.

I'm feeling cursed because MagKnits went kaput a month after publishing my Pentapus pattern. I just sent a pattern to Knitty and find myself hoping it doesn't get accepted. Bad luck comes in threes, and I'd feel responsible if Knitty went under after publishing one of my patterns!

I am woman, hear me roar.

Yesterday I replaced the keyboard on my laptop all by myself. I had to take it apart with a screw driver and reassemble it without losing 4 itty-bitty screws.

Now I can use the shift key and the letter 't'. Woo-hoo!

Matilda Hat

I made this hat for my business partner for her birthday. She'd seen a picture of it on my blog a few months ago and admired it -- even mentioned preferred colors. I can take a hint.

I couldn't figure out a way to get her head measurements discretely, so I had to guess on the size. Luckily, I was right.

The pattern's available on MK Carroll's blog.

I used the recommended yarn, Peace Fleece, for the hat. It felt coarse while knitting but, as several people on Ravelry noted, it washes up to be quite soft. For the flowers, I used a bit of Lamb's Pride Strawberry Smoothie left over from a purse I made her for Christmas. The variegated yarn gave an illusion of depth to the flowers and ties the look together if she happens to wear the hat while carrying the purse.

Modeling credit: Half-empty bottle of garlic and basil olive oil bought at the farmer's market. Yum!

Idget's New Favorite Food

Lettuce.

Yep.

Put a few leafy greens in this dog's bowl and he'll suck 'em down faster than filet mignon. He'll dig through the trash to get the rotting ones I found in the bottom of the fridge.

I knew he was from another planet.

Pastoral Dreams

I like to joke with Rob about getting a sheep when we get a house, so we don't have to mow the lawn and I can learn to spin. I figure we could "loan" the sheep to the neighbors to mow their lawns, if we run out of grass.

That house is still pretty far away, but I'm living the dream vicariously -- I bought a share of Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farms spring shear. I get all the thrill of following my wool from sheep to sweater and none of the dirt. Woo-hoo!

It's Always Something...

This morning I discovered that Idget had chewed the ends off my brand new circular needles -- the ones Rob just bought me to replace what was stolen in San Diego. And of course, the pair he decided to make his new chew toy were the ones I was currently using to make a sweater.

Sigh. I'm jinxed.

Idget Is Famous! (sort of)

A friend was watching Bikini or Bust and who should she catch a glimpse of but l'il ole Idget. Woo-hoo! A celebrity in the family.

Comic-Con Knitting Disaster!

Rob and I spent the last 5 days at Comic-con in San Diego. I brought my knitting for when the booth was slow and because I make toys of his characters to sell. After the show closed yesterday, Rob took a load of things to the car, but forgot his keys. He left my knitting bag by the car (yes, NOT smart) and when he came back, my bag was STOLEN. It had my needle roll in it with ALL of my needles, a scarf I made for my sister in law, at least a dozen balls of yarn and a pair of scissors I’ve had since kindergarten – 3 decades ago. I should probably add that I made the knitting roll myself and the scarf was a new design I had hoped to sell the pattern for.

We drove around the parking lot for a while, hoping whoever took it ditched it when they realized there were no comics in it. No such luck.

And so far, no one has turned it in to the parking garage, the convention center or the hotel connected with the convention center, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

It Tastes of the Earth

I made homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream for a potluck.

Instead of using extract, I cut mint from our garden and steeped it in the cream. Rob was impressed. However, when it was time to eat it, he only had two bites. Everyone else cleared their plate. Someone pointed out he wasn't eating his ice cream and he replied, "It tastes of the earth."

Later, he said that was the politest way he could find to say it tasted like the dirt the mint plant grows in.

Really, Rob? How often do you taste the dirt in our front yard???

The Nazi Wagon

Yup. That's a swatstika.

Keyed into the roof of my car.

We think one of the neighborhood kids is calling us Nazis because I gave him a hard time for peeing in his front yard. You know, because walking 15 feet to the toilet is way too difficult.

Bikini or Bust

Chances are if you ever thought about knitting a teeny-weeny bikini, you probably flipped through Sexy Little Knits by Ashley Paige.

Beginning Friday, July 11,(tomorrow!) Ashley will have her own reality show on TLC, Bikini or Bust. In addition to following Ashley’s career as a knitwear designer, the show will also focus on her animal rescue. Both Toaster and Idget came from RuffHouzen, and Ashley did an amazing job with them before turning them over to me.

If you’re like me and like cuddly, furry creatures as much as you like to knit, this is a show you won’t want to miss!

Bad, Idget. Bad! Bad dog!

Idget is turning out to be way more of a handful than Toaster.

He likes to get in the trash, with a particular penchant for Rob's snotty kleenex and used dental floss. He also like to pee on our bed.

Yep, you read that right. Idget has peed on our bed THREE times.

He is pretty much house-broken, but the second we aren't looking, he sneaks into the bedroom and lets loose on the comforter.

The other night, we didn't discover it till late, and this time it had soaked through the comforter into the mattress. Not what you want to find at bedtime.

Like a true gentleman, Rob offered to sleep on the couch and let me have the joy of sleeping on the half of the mattress that wasn't steeped in urine. I accepted his offer. At least our bedroom has air conditioning!

Idget

We got Toaster a friend. His name is Idget, which is the name he came with. It really fits.

Unfortunately, Idget is the victim of 'second child syndrome.' Even though we got him two weeks ago, we just got around to taking pictures of him.

He's a strange looking dog, which is what I love about him. The woman at the rescue thought he looked like a tall, skinny pig. I think he looks prehistoric. Rob calls him the alien dog.

You should see the other guy

I'm sporting a (slight) black eye at the moment.

The light is broken in my closet, so when I bent over to get something, I slammed my face into my bike helmet. Ironic that something that is supposed to protect me could do so much damage.

At first Rob wanted me to tell people he had punched me, but then he decided I shouldn't do that because the bruise is kind of wimpy and he didn't want people to think he couldn't punch very well.

Off to NY

Rob and I leave tonight for MOCCA.

I'm excited about going to New York and seeing friends, but I am NOT looking forward to the flight. Flying is such a pain in the ass. Last year when we went to Mocca, we missed connections on both legs of the trip and were stranded in Cincinatti for hours. At one point, a very unhelpful gate agent told us we might be there for days.

This year, we used miles for the tickets and are on two different airlines. Fingers are crossed there are no missed connections -- being stranded is much less fun when you're by yourself. Even my bike is happier when it's left behind with Rob's.


If there are no more posts to this blog, it means I have been permanently stranded in an airport, doomed to eat fast food and never shower for the rest of my life.

Gelato Pattern

Here’s the pattern for the tank I posted a few weeks ago.

The top is designed to hit well below the waist – I hate when I raise my arms and my “muffin top” pops out. I also tend to sweat and hate getting pit stains, so it’s cut low under the arms.

This is my first attempt at writing a pattern with sizes. I did my best but, even so, I am 98% certain there are going to be errors. I’ll apologize for those up front and ask that you please let me know if you find any so I can correct them for future users!

SUPPLIES
Knit One, Crochet Too Italian Ice [76 yd per 50g]
MC, Color: 520, Spring, 4 (5, 6) skeins
CC1, Color: 212, Petal Pink, 1 (2, 2) skein
CC2, Color: 258, Carnation, 1 (2, 2) skein

Size 7 dpns (Some of the work done on dpns can be done on straight needles, but I prefer dpns because their smaller length makes maneuvering easier.)
Size 9 24-inch circular needle
Tapestry Needle
Stitch Holders or Safety Pins
Stitch Marker

SIZE
Small fits bust size 34
Medium fits bust size 38
Large fits bust size 42

GAUGE
18 sts/ 27 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on larger needles

BODY
With CC1, cast 128 (146, 164) stitches onto circular needles. Join to begin knitting in the round and place marker.
Work 6 rows in garter stitch.
Using MC, continue in st st until work measures 6 (6, 6 ½,) inches from CO edge.


WAIST SHAPING
Decrease Round: Decrease 4 stitches, evenly spaced through work.
Work 3 rounds in st st.
Repeat Decrease Round.
Work 3 rounds in st st.
Repeat Decrease Round. 116 (134, 152) sts remain and work measures about 7¼ (7 ¼, 7 ¾) inches.
Work 10 (12, 12) rounds in st st.
Repeat Decrease Round. 112 (130, 148) sts remain.
Work 12 (14, 14) rounds in st st.

Increase Round: Increase 4 stitches evenly spaced through work.
Work 3 rows in st st.
Repeat Increase Round. 120 (138, 156) sts on needles.
Work in st st until work measures 14½ (15 ¼, 15 ¾)

Using CC2. Work 6 rows in garter stitch.
Cup Set Up Row Small: K 3, BO 12, K 5, BO 20, K 5, BO 12, K 31, BO 4, K 28
Break yarn.

Cup Set Up Row Medium: K 3, BO 14, K 5, BO 22, K 5, BO 14, K 37, BO 4, K 34
Break yarn.

Cup Set Up Row Large: K 3, BO 15, K 5, BO 22, K 5, BO 15, K 45, BO 4, K 42
Break yarn.

LEFT BREAST CUP
Slip last 28 (34, 42) sts that were knit in cup set up row onto size 7 needle. First stitch to be knit should be closest to armhole. Slip all other sts onto stitch holders.

Using CC1
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl

Size Medium Only: Row 3, knit; Row 4, Purl

Size Large Only: Row 3, knit; Row 4, Purl; Row 5, knit; Row 6, Purl

Short Row Shaping: Knit to last 3 sts of row. Wrap next stitch. Turn work and purl to last 3 sts of row. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 4 sts of row. Wrap next stitch. Turn, purl to last 4 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 5 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 5 sts.

Size Medium Only: Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 6 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 6 sts.

Size Large Only: Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 6 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 6 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 7 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 7 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 8 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 8 sts.

All Sizes: Wrap next stitch, turn, knit to end of row, picking up wraps with regular sts and knitting as one stitch. Turn, purl to the end of row, picking up wraps with regular sts and purling as one stitch.

Continue in st st for 10 (12, 14) rows.
Decrease Rows: Row 1: Knit to last 2 sts, k2tog
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: SKPO, K to end of row
Row 4: Purl
Repeat Rows 1 through 4, 2 (2, 6) more times. 22 (28, 28) sts remain

Row 13(In size Large, this is Row 29): Knit to last 2 sts, k2tog
Row 14 (In size Large, this is Row 30): Purl
Row 15 (In size Large, this is Row 31): SKPO, K to last 2 sts, k2tog
Row 16 (In size Large, this is Row 32): PurlRepeat rows 13 through 16 until 1 st remains. Place on stitch holder. Break yarn
.
Trim and Strap
Outside Trim: Place the first 3 sts that were knit in cup set up row onto size 7 needle so that first stitch to be knit is furthest from cup.

Using CC2, SKPO, K, pu 1 stitch on edge of cup. Turn work. Knit all 3 stitches on needle. Repeat until the trim reaches top of the cup. Place remaining 3 sts onto stitch holder with single stitch left from knitting cup. Break yarn.

Neckline Trim: Beginning where cup attaches to body and using CC2, pick up 3 sts along the BO part of the Cup Set Up Row.

Turn work. Knit all 3 stitches on needle. Turn Work. Pick up 1 stitch along edge of cup. K 1 stitch, K2tog. Repeat until the trim reaches top of the cup. Transfer 4 active sts from top of cup and outside trim from stitch holder onto needle with live sts from neckline trim.

Strap:

Row 1:K, K, SKPO, SKPO, K. 5 sts remain.
Work in garter stitch until strap is 10 (11, 12) inches long long. Place first 5 live sts from the cup set up row onto a dpn. Use 3 needle bind off to attach strap to back of top. Break yarn.

RIGHT BREAST CUP
Slip next to last 28 (34, 42) sts that were knit in set up row onto size 7 needle. First stitch to be knit will be closest to neckline.

Using CC1
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl

Size Medium Only: Row 3, knit; Row 4, Purl

Size Large Only: Row 3, knit; Row 4, Purl; Row 5, knit; Row 6, Purl

Short Row Shaping: Knit to last 3 sts of row. Wrap next stitch. Turn work and purl to last 3 sts of row. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 4 sts of row. Wrap next stitch. Turn, purl to last 4 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 5 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 5 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit to end of row, picking up wraps with regular sts and knitting as one stitch. Turn, purl to the end of row, picking up wraps with regular sts and purling as one stitch.

Size Medium Only: Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 6 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 6 sts.

Size Large Only: Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 6 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 6 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 7 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 7 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, knit back to last 8 sts. Wrap next stitch, turn, purl back to last 8 sts.

All Sizes: Wrap next stitch, turn, knit to end of row, picking up wraps with regular sts and knitting as one stitch. Turn, purl to the end of row, picking up wraps with regular sts and purling as one stitch.

Continue in st st for 10 (12, 14) rows.

Decrease Rows:
Row 1: SKPO, K to end of round
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit to last 2 sts, k2tog
Row 4: Purl
Repeat Rows 1 through 4, 2 (2, 6) more times. 22 (28, 28) sts remain

Row 13 (In size Large, this is Row 29): SKPO, K to end of round
Row 14 (In size Large, this is Row 30): Purl
Row 15 (In size Large, this is Row 31): SKPO, K to last 2 sts, k2tog
Row 16 (In size Large, this is Row 32): Purl
Repeat rows 13 through 16 until 1 st remains. Place on stitch holder. Break yarn.

Trim and Strap
Outside Trim: Place the 3 live sts on the cup set up row that are closest to the cup onto size 7 needle so that first stitch knit is furthest from cup.

Using CC2, knit all 3 stitches on needle. Turn work. Pick up 1 stitch on edge of cup, K one stitch, K2tog. Turn work. Repeat until the trim reaches top of the cup.

Place 3 stitches from outside trim onto stitch holder with single stitch left from knitting cup. Break yarn.

Neckline Trim: Beginning where cup attaches to body and using CC2, pick up 3 sts along the BO part of the Cup Set Up Row.

Turn work. Knit all 3 stitches on needle. Turn Work. Pick up 1 stitch along edge of cup. K 1 stitch, SKPO. Repeat until the trim reaches top of the cup. Transfer 4 active sts from top of cup and outside trim from stitch holder onto needle with live sts from neckline trim.

Strap:
Row 1: K, K, SKPO, SKPO, K. 5 sts remain.
Work in garter stitch until strap is 10 (11, 12) icnhes long. Place last 5 live sts from the cup set up row onto a dpn. Use 3 needle bind off to attach strap to back of top. Break yarn.

FINSIHING
Weave in all ends.

Enjoy!

NOTE: This pattern is for personal use only. This pattern, or works made using this pattern, may not be sold.

Are effigies back in fashion?

This is hanging off a telephone pole about a block from my apartment.

Charming, isn't it?

Gelato

At long last we have some sun here -- too much, almost. It's been in the high 90's for days.

But sun means good light for photos. Here is the shirt I finished a couple of weeks ago. I'm calling it "Gelato" because the colors remind me of that yummy ice cream.

I'll post a pattern in a couple of days...

Who needs sleep?

At midnight, a guy stopped his car in the middle our street, blared his radio and revved his engine. After 20 minutes of this, we called the police. He drove off before they arrived. We thought we were in the clear.

At 1AM, he returned and repeated this scenario. Again we called the police. Again he drove off before they arrived.

A few minutes later we heard fire engines and an ambulance. I am not embarassed to say, I hope he crashed into a telephone pole.

I'm really hoping I get some sleep tonight.